Projects
ASC Manufactures the World's Largest Autoclave
ASC Process Systems built what became the world's largest composite bonding autoclave, recognized by Guinness World Records in 2006: a 30 ft diameter vessel with 76 ft of working length, field-fabricated in Charleston, South Carolina, to cure Boeing 787 fuselage sections.
By the numbers
Official statistics
The composite bonding autoclave system, as built:
| Inside working diameter | 30 ft (9.26 m) |
|---|---|
| Outside diameter | 32 ft (9.88 m) |
| Inside working length | 76 ft (23.5 m) |
| Overall length | 112 ft (34.5 m) |
| Vessel volume | 82,000 cu ft |
| Maximum temperature | 450 °F |
| Maximum pressure | 150 psig |
| Heating system | 40 million BTU/hr |
| Control system | CPC Level III |
| Weight | Over 1,000,000 lbs |
| Hours to construct | 65,000+ |
Inside the vessel
A cooling radiator 20 ft tall
The interior view shows the autoclave's length and its rear-mounted cooling coil and radiator, which stands 20 ft (6.2 m) tall. Look for the person standing in front of it for scale.
The autoclave was fabricated on site in Charleston. The manufacturing building was built around it after the autoclave shell was completed.
ASC has since broken its own record. In 2016 we commissioned a 30 × 85 ft autoclave in North Charleston and a 28 × 120 ft autoclave for Boeing's 777X wing center in Everett, Washington.
Related
Large autoclaves from ASC
ASC has built shop and field-erected autoclaves from 1 ft diameter by 3 ft long to 30 ft diameter by 200 ft long, at up to 2,000 psi and 1,500 °F.
Contact
Planning something big?
Talk to the engineers who have built the largest composite autoclaves in the world.